THE WRAITH Soundtrack: 2 of the top 5 soundtracks of the 80’s – My Take

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When it comes to movie soundtracks, it is hard to touch to 80’s. I recently posted a blog about my admiration for the soundtrack for IRON EAGLE. I stated it is one of my TOP 5 soundtracks form the Eighties. Another on that list would be the soundtrack for the movie THE WRAITH from 1986. It takes place in Arizona and is about a kid who is murdered by a group of Car Racers. The kid comes back as a Wraith and kills the group of racers, one by one, in an act of systematic vengeance. Kind of like “The Crow meets The Fast and The Furious”… before either of those existed. This soundtrack plays a heavy role in the movie. The album is full of Guitar/Synthesizer tracks from soundtrack artist like Stan Bush (Transformers ’86), Tim Feehan (License to Kill ‘89), and Ian Hunter (Teachers ’84). This blog is about the Hard & Heavy standout tracks like “Secret Loser” by Ozzy Osbourne. The track originally appears on Ozzy’s album “The Ultimate Sin”. Anyone who is reading this blog knows the track, but in case you don’t… It is typical Ozzy fair from the 80’s, with Jake E. Lee laying down some amazing work on guitar, a terrific track. Next up is “Smokin’ in The Boys Room”. I believe, with the exception on “Home Sweet Home”, everyone knows this cover of the Brownsville Station classic that originally appeared on The Crue’s 3rd album “Theatre of Pain”. Those 2 tracks ruled the Summer of ’85.  The next Heavy track is the 1st of 2 songs from the ever incredible LION. “Powerlove” is just a FANTASTIC track from these guys. Originally appearing on LION’s “Dangerous Attraction” album, it even spawned a video for MTV. It has a great, upbeat, AOR vibe that can not be denied. Following LION is the “always should have been bigger” band HONEYMOON SUITE with the song “Those Were The Days”. A sincere sounding ballad from the boys that hail from the Great White North. The song only appears on this soundtrack. After that, we get another song from LION in the form of “Never Surrender”. This is a fast driving, meant for an action movie, pile driver of a song. It also appears on the “Dangerous Attraction” album. The album is finishes out with tracks from Billy Idol (Rebel Yell) & Bonnie Tyler (Matter of The Heart). Like IRON EAGLE, I can jam this soundtrack in total because of the layout of the tracks. Songs I would not normally choose to listen too, flow easily because of the overall vibe of the compilation. Unlike IRON EAGLE, this soundtrack is no longer in print. It is a hard find, but some digital download sites have it available for those who will be happy with a digital copy. If you have never seen this Sci-FI Action classic, do yourself a favor and change that. It features a young Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes (Director of John Q & Alpha Dog), Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks), with Clint Howard & Randy Quaid. It has some great racing scenes on the highways of Tucson, Arizona and is just a lot of fun. Thanks for reading.

1 thought on “THE WRAITH Soundtrack: 2 of the top 5 soundtracks of the 80’s – My Take”

  1. You are right on the Metal money when you refer to the Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” and “Smokin’ In The Boys Room” as two tracks that ruled the Summer of ’85. I honestly uphold “Theatre Of Pain”, even though it is not the “universal” thought among the Metal masses.

    I hope to track this soundtrack down someday… on one of my Heavy Metal hunts. Thanks for bringing it out in the open… very cool!

    Stone

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